As spring tea sprouts and all nature grows, it is the peak season for picking spring tea. In the vast tea fields of Tiandamiao Township, busy tea farmers can be seen darting through the tea gardens with Bamboo baskets on their backs, seizing the farming season to pick the first green shoots of spring.
The couple, Quan Qilong and his wife from the Lao Haitang Villager Group in Waqu Village, have been going out early every day and returning late at night to pick their own 4 mu (approx. 0.66 acres) of tea. During their spare time, they also help large-scale tea growers in the village pick and process tea leaves. “With the arrival of the spring tea market, we go every day to pick and process tea leaves. In total, we've earned more than 9,000 yuan in a month,” Quan Qilong said happily.
Quan Qilong and his wife's recent lifestyle is just a reflection of life in Waqu Village. In recent years, Waqu Village has leveraged its tea resource advantages and actively guided farmers to adjust their industrial structure. Through the demonstration and leadership of leading enterprises, they have explored a cooperative model of “Party organization + cooperative + enterprise + farmer.” They have actively developed the tea industry, significantly improving both the quality and price of tea. It is estimated that in 2024, the annual production of tea will reach 9 tons, with an expected output value of 5.4 million yuan, benefiting 192 households with an average income of 28,000 yuan per household.
In Minqiang Village, tea picking and processing have reached their peak. The tea farmer Chen Guorun has purchased a set of electric tea-making equipment including a withering bed, a Wok for killing green, and a rolling machine, transitioning from traditional wood-fired tea making to electric tea making. Chen Guorun remarked, “In the past, I could process no more than 50 kilograms of tea leaves in a day. Now, using fully electrified production lines, the operation is simple, and the heat is easy to control. Not only is the efficiency high, but the processed tea leaves are fresh in color and good in appearance, fetching a higher price. I can now process over 200 kilograms of tea leaves in a day.”
In recent years, Tiandamiao Township has continuously promoted the development of the tea industry by introducing Tea processing technology and innovating the development model of the tea industry to rapidly upgrade the industry. Tea trees have become a “cash cow” for increasing local incomes. In 2024, the 12,000 mu (approx. 1,984 acres) of tea in the entire township is expected to bring in 71.5 million yuan in income for local tea farmers. (Tiandamiao Township – Liu Xiaoya, Zhou Jie)